There are meditation programs that encourage you to attend sessions sleep-deprived. The idea being that when you are physically tired your mind naturally slows down. The problem is, fatigue also impedes your ability to learn, just ask any grade school teacher. In my opinion, any meditation program that limits your sleep time also limits your ability to learn and progress.

I have a saying, “Awareness Meditation is not Vegetation,” which nearly every meditator on the planet is quick to agree with, yet, there are countless meditators around the world vegetating on a regular basis. This is why so many people go home from a meditation retreat with a calm, aware mind, but find it impossible to maintain.

The issue isn’t the inability to maintain a calm clear mind, but they may not have learned the cause of their distractions, confusion, and stress. Applied Awareness™ specifically helps you uncover this important knowledge in our entry level classes, where you’ll learn to use mindfulness to find the cause. After all, how can any of us expect to maintain any sort of calm clear mind without ever learning what prevents it in the first place?

If you’re practicing Applied Awareness, please make sure to get more than enough sleep. If you’re attending an Applied Awareness class or retreat, also make sure to have a good hearty breakfast, and feel free to bring along snacks and drinks to have during breaks. No classes will ever start before 9:00am, nor keep you up late…after all, you are there to learn about meditation, not practice vegetation.